CARLSBAD CAVERNS, NM - GETTING TO THE BOTTOM OF THINGS

The underground "lobby" at Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

It had been a long-time goal of mine to see the caverns. My first attempt was on my first business trip for my previous employer. The government had been shut down by political games and I found myself staring at orange pylons blocking the entrance.

On my last trip for that employer I found myself once again in the area and dropped in for a few hours to explore. The caverns were open and I fulfilled my ambition to walk through them marveling at their amazingly whimsical formations.

Synchronicity at its finest.

THROWBACK MARTINI

Okay, It's time for the Friday Martini!

Here, as seen before, is the first chapter -- the Introduction -- to my new book 

CHASING MARTINIS

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

NEW YORK - CHRISTMAS IN JULY

Much of the nation is sweltering under intense Summer heat.

My favorite Sirius/XM feed -- RadioClassics 00 features a weeklong CHRISTMAS IN JULY series of programs.

Works for me.

Crank up the AC, close your eyes, put on a video of IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE and chill.

VANCOUVER, BC - TIME FOR A STEAM?

The Gastown district in Vancouver has dozens of restaurants, boutiques and interesting sights for the visitor to Vancouver. The gleaming metropolis' underside, if you will, with statues of "Gassy Jack", back streets like Blood Alley, and this curiosity: a steam-powered clock.

Apologies for the focus on the sign, but it's the only shot I got of the description on the base of this wonderful and whimsical landmark. 

Time for a quick steam before we're off to other adventures?

NICE, FR - PROMENADE DES ANGLAIS

As you likely heard over the weekend there was an horrific terror attack in Nice, France. This wonderful seaside city is one of my favorite places on this planet and the unbridled thuggery of this act is difficult to comprehend as innocent men, women and, yes, children were literally mown down by a brutal assassin hellbent on his own apparent political crusade.

Our thoughts and love go out to the victims and their families, and to the citizens of the Cote d'Azur as they cope with this tragedy.

Je Suis Nicoise.

THE FRIDAY MARTINI -- CHASING MARTINIS INTRODUCTION - CHAPTER 1

As promised, today we're posting a special preview chapter from my upcoming book 

CHASING MARTINIS

To read, click on the first image above and it will open a window so that all pages may be viewed/read in sequence. We hope you find this as fun and exciting as we do, and we look forward to your feedback. 

Promotional copies are available as PDFs by request only to barbergallery@verizon.net

Happy Friday, and Cheers! 

BOULDER, CO -- REST FOR A MOMENT

Two hikers rest for a moment in Boulder's downtown Pearl Street Mall.

Boulder is inwon for four things, primarily:

1) University of Colorado, Boulder

2) Terrific outdoor activities and sports

3) The home of Celestial Seasonings tea

4) Mork and Mindy

All four of which require a steady supply of caffeine.

ROVINJ, CROATIA - BUSKERS

Three musicians practice the art of "busking" along a street in Rovinj.

Given their set-up I;d say they've been pretty successful, and truth to tell they were quite good. On the left you can see they had quite the collection of recorded CDs, though we had to leave before we could buy a copy. 

(ALWAYS buy music from local musicians, it is a brilliant and sharable memento of your visit.)

Eventually an appreciative crowd gathered around and (hopefully) made donations to the open box just to the right of the speaker.

SEDONA, AZ - CHAPEL OF THE HOLY CROSS

Chapel of the Holy Cross. 

Sedona.

Intimately stunning.

That's all I got.

(It also has a beautiful interior...)

GENOVA, ITALY - DOWNPOUR!

More fallout from my recent review of train stations.

Got to the train station just as it started to sprinkle. By the time we made it through the station's halls and out onto the train's boarding ramp it was coming down heavily.

It made for a decent photo op, once I got the luggage tucked safe and dry.

THE SUNDAY QUOTE

OXFORD, UK - STUDY TIME

It could be any major university, really. This just happens to be Oxford.

Study time is alone time for a lot of students. A time to delve into subjects that interest you, that drive your life at this point. It's also time to escape the madding crowds, as it were.

Study time.

THE FRIDAY MARTINI!

"Friday, Friday, Gittin' down on Fri-day!"

Um. Yeah. 

Marriott, La Jolla. Pinnacle.

(Have a great weekend...)

ALBUQUERQUE, NM - ABOVE THE BIG-I

Albuquerque -- ABQ -- has always been at the crossroads of something. Along Route 66 where it crossed the Rio Grande. The cultures of easterners as they met Native Americans of the Southwest. 

And the "Big-I" interchange where East/West Interstate 40 meets North/South I-25. 

Viewed from roughly 3000' aboard one of ABQ's famous hot air balloons.

SUPERSTITION MOUNTAINS, AZ - THAT MOMENT WHEN...

That moment when you are drawn to pull to the side of the road, grab the Nikon 

and photograph your surroundings.

That moment when you realize, 

amid Arizona's haunting Superstition Mountains, 

the impulse to stop has led you to a spot where two logs, 

assumed to be whitened pieces of wood, 

are the bleached bones of some long-dead animal upon whose resting place 

you have inadvertently intruded.

Or perhaps they are just logs after all...

KENNEBUNKPORT, ME - MISTY MORNING

It's a cool, misty morning in Kennebunkport.

One of my first travel photographs. Taken in the mid-90s. 

My first "real" camera, a Pentax ME 35mm film beast that felt like it weighed 10 pounds. Got a lot of great shots with it, however. Scanning some of them in and posting as we go along.

WEST TEXAS - VISTA

West Texas is largely flat when compared to a lot of other states. So is east Texas.

There are mountains, but they are generally kept in the distance. 

The exception is the 8700 foot tall Guadalupe Peak in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, seen in the background behind a temporary shallow lake.

South across Highway 62 from that lake bed is the drier, flatter half, more representative of this part of Texas. 

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

It is our most profound hope that this great nation once again learn to dream dreams bigger than ourselves. That the people who now misrepresent who we are and what we believe be continually shown their words and acts of hatred have no lasting effect. May those who wish to do us harm simply because of what we believe seek understanding rather than violence.

And may those who lead this great nation learn to put nation above self and politics, togetherness above discord, and generosity above avarice.

We must simultaneously learn from where we came
to better equip ourselves for a monumental future yet to come.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

THE SUNDAY QUOTE

LONG BEACH, CA -- SHOOTING THE PHOTOGRAPHER

Photographing sunrise. It's a shot I've gotten myself from close to this person's position.

The Long Beach coastline, unlike the majority of California coastline, faces almost due south. The sun rises over the mountains east of Orange County, casting a beautiful reflection on the bay. 

It's a beautiful and serene standpoint, worth the chill air and cooling coup of coffee one has to endure.

But I like this shot and the way it depicts an artist capturing the moment.

Pardon Our Dust

Major construction (destruction) going on at TT Central. We've had a couple of days without connectivity.


Back up and running.

Whew.